Conservation Payments, Biodiversity, Measurement, and Agricultural Land Use Policy in Canada

Canadian farmers can play a critical role in environmental stewardship while managing the land on which they farm. There are a variety of approaches to reward producers for practices that enhance land conservation and improve environmental outcomes.

This one-and-a-half-day workshop will feature new insights from a national survey of producers on their experiences and expectations with conservation programs and a panel discussion on how better biodiversity measurement and data can improve policy outcomes. Participants will spend time after each session collaborating on what’s working, what’s not, and what’s next to build a picture for what the landscape needs to look like to drive more effective conservation programs.

We invite you to join CAPI and Ducks Unlimited Canada for collaborative dialogue, panel discussions, and more with the goal of having participants leave having generated concrete, action-oriented policy recommendations to improve the design, delivery, and impact of conservation incentives across the country.

This workshop is part of CAPI’s Policies for Land Use, Agriculture & Nature (PLAN) program focused on advancing solutions that enable us to feed the world sustainability, protect farmland, preserve nature and biodiversity, and promote food security. This workshop is supported in part by the RBC Foundation through RBC Tech for Nature.

Agenda – July 15^th 2025
7:30am	Transport to Oak Hammond Marsh
8:00am-8:45am	Registration, Breakfast, Networking
8:45am-9:00am	Welcome *Tyler McCann*, Managing Director, Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute *Michael Champion*, Manager of Industry and Government Relations and Priority Projects – Prairie Region, Ducks Unlimited Canada
9:00am-9:30am	Setting the Stage: Conservation Payments Survey Results *Tyler McCann*, Managing Director, Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute CAPI released a survey earlier this year with the goal of better understanding producer perspectives on conservation programs. This session will highlight the results, diving into the challenges and benefits of conservation payments and how they impact farming operations. This presentation will set the stage for discussions on policy options for shaping better programs that support the economic viability of farms and environmental sustainability. Click here to download the CAPI Presentation
9:30am-9:45am	Break, Coffee, Networking
9:45am-10:45am	Breakout Discussions Participants will spend the session engaged in dialogue answering three questions: Question 1: How do you characterize the impact of conservation programming in Canada? Question 2: What’s working—and not working—with current conservation policies and programs? Question 3: What opportunities do you see for change?
10:45am-12:00pm	Marsh Tour An experienced guide will accompany the group, exploring the marsh and learning about the history and management. This will provide opportunity to see conservation in action and provide participants with additional ecological and policy context.
12:00pm-1:00pm	Lunch, Networking
1:00pm-2:00pm	Measurement and Data Bree Jones, Director of Business Services and Development, Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (moderator) Cedric MacLeod, Executive Director, Canadian Forage and Grassland Association Dr. Samuel Robinson, Research Scientist, Institute for Wetland and Waterfowl Research, Ducks Unlimited Canada Jamie Hewitt, Senior Advisor, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada If we want better programs and policy, we need better data. This session will explore how improved biodiversity measurement and data collection can improve policy outcomes. Panelists will discuss what data is needed, whether it’s already being collected, how it can be better used, and challenges, such as confidentiality and data accessibility. The focus will be on what the landscape will need to look like to drive more effective conservation programs.
2:00pm-3:00pm	Breakout Discussions Participants will spend the session engaged in dialogue answering three questions based on the preceding panel discussion. Question 1: What are the challenges with measurement and data that are impacting conservation programming? Question 2: How are roles and responsibilities divided when it comes to data and measurement? How should roles and responsibilities be divided? Question 3: What is the future of data and measurement? What gaps need to be closed?
3:00pm-3:15pm	Break, Coffee, Networking
3:15pm-4:15pm	Next Steps: From Ideas to Action Participants will take the learnings from the day and focus on specific topics gleaned from the presentations and dialogue to develop actionable policy recommendations. What are the next steps? How do we keep the conversation going?
4:15pm-4:20pm	Closing Remarks *Tyler McCann*, Managing Director, Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute *Michael Champion*, Manager of Industry and Government Relations and Priority Projects – Prairie Region, Ducks Unlimited Canada
4:20-5:00pm	Reception Close the day with an informal opportunity to continue conversations sparked during the workshop and reflect on the day’s discussions. Light refreshments will be served.